Setup
by spoonerdog123
Summary: "And so it was that Anzu Mazaki woke up with a fuzzy headache, and a dim, flickering want for a bracelet…" For the Yuugiou Fanfiction Contest Season 9.75, Round 1 - Manipulashipping. A little kissing, nothing graphic.


**Pairing: **Manipulashipping (Marik X Anzu)

**Prompt: ** Yu-Gi-Oh Fanfiction Contest - Season 9.75, Round 1

**Word Count:** 1,351.

**Warnings:**Some kissing, nothing graphic. Everyone attempts to stay relatively IC.

Setup -_ Has many definitions._ You'd get different answers, depending who you asked. But for today, we're only interested in two of those answers:

Anzu's definition: A planned date of some description.  
Marik's definition: A trap.

oOoOoOo

The mastermind seethed as he beheld the scene before him through the eyes of one of his underlings – his plans foiled, his control over his pawns broken and lying shattered on the metaphorical ground.

_Killing him is not enough, now… I must embarrass the Pharaoh before he dies!_ _  
_  
In his actual location, a dark and shabby alleyway, the shadows to his left moved, and a rumbling voice shook him out of his visions. "Master Marik…"

"I know, Rishid. They won this round."

A huge, bear–like hand landed on his shoulder. "They will not take the next. I will see to that… Personally."

Marik considered this for some time… and then, a dreadful idea came into his head. "You are a good servant, Rishid… but this time, I do not think it will be necessary." He grinned, then, perfect white teeth flashing in the dark. "I have all the pieces I need to execute a devastating blow. You see..."

And thusly, he told the other man of his brilliant plan. "You'll be in charge of the preparations… of course."

"But sir – could we not just kidnap her? Why lure?"

"Rishid", the blonde sneered, "For this, it's all about the setup. And I do believe I have the perfect one."

oOoOoOo

_Ahahaha…_

There it was again, the slightly teasing laughter she could have sworn she'd heard before. Maybe… Her mind strained to remember it, but she just couldn't seem to link it with anything.

Except perhaps the bracelet she'd found on her pillow – a beautiful, shimmering ankh, all gleaming sapphires and gilded silver. And the note:

_'To my dear Anzu,_  
_I would be honored if you were to meet me on the upper deck of the airship. This bracelet is for you; I humbly request that you wear it at our meeting._  
_Yours truly, an admirer.'_

She hadn't really meant to, but she had still memorized every word. She'd never seen something so… so…. What was the word?

_Romantic_, supplied the little voice, and Anzu agreed with it. Yes, that was it…

"Anzu… Ground Control to Major Anzu!"

The girl blinked. "Oh! Uh… Sorry, Joey."

"Nah, nah. It's cool." The blonde waved a hand dismissively, turning back to the enraptured audience; which consisted of Joey's redheaded sister, and two young men who seemed to be paying more attention to said redhead than to the actual story." So, anyway. I was, like, _this_ close to beating my best buddy with my awesome illegal deck, and sending him to the bottom of the ocean, when…"

Her mind drifted – and immediately, back came the little voice.

_If you're wondering about that little trinket, maybe you should talk to me._

Trinket? Anzu would have deemed it anything but a trinket – then again, there were probably millionaires who would consider it that. She thought about the piece; it was the work of a master jeweler, for sure. None of her friends would have been able to afford it…

_Except one._

Although the voice only said those two words, they were enough to make the girl's heart race. One of her friends was secretly a millionaire? But… who could that possibly be? Surely not Joey. And… not Yugi… or was it? Come to think of it, the bracelet reminded her of the Millennium item that odd man had held in one hand, with the Millennium Scales in his other – though it was not _quite_ as large as that. Perhaps it was Yugi after all, then… or even Yami? An ankh might be just his style, actually–

"And then I– Hey! You've got that blank look again! Are you even listening to me?"

"Huh?"

"Exactly!"

His sister sat up, blinking. "Maybe you need some fresh air. It _is _rather stuffy in here."

Anzu looked to her gratefully. "I'm sure that's exactly what I need. " Standing up from her seat, she made her way gracefully to the door, even as Joey began his story all over again.

"So, I couldn't take his Red–Eyes Black Dragon, right? So I fought really hard, and d'you know what? I…"

oOoOoOo

Softly, slowly, Anzu tiptoed her way through the airship. She didn't really know why she was being cautious – after all, Kaiba had never said they _couldn't _explore the unrestricted areas of his precious airship. And yet, she was almost too scared to breathe out, for fear that… What? Someone might hear her?

No… Watched. She felt like she was being watched, that was the thing. She couldn't quite explain it, but there was this sort of _wrong_; a slight prickle on the back of her neck, a quiver in her stomach, and no matter how hard she tried to shake her head and keep moving, she just couldn't get rid of that feeling.

She slipped into one of the main rooms of the airship, where Kaiba had shown them how the matches would be decided – and that was when her jaw dropped.

The Blue–Eyes White Dragon statuette… it had been decorated with purple flowers. Hundreds of them hung in garlands around its neck, its wings, its tail. And hanging around its neck was another ankh, just like her own… but with amethysts instead of sapphires, and suspended by a far longer chain than her bracelet. Entranced by its beauty, a little puzzled as to how her admirer had managed to set all this up, Anzu reached forwards to touch it. The movement startled the display, causing it to shift – and a note fell out of the dragon's open mouth.

_'To my wonderful Anzu,_  
_I do not like to be kept waiting. Please, don this humble gift, and join me on the upper deck._  
_Yours sincerely, an admirer.'_

Her heart missed a beat. This was her admirer's work, there was no doubt about that… and they were waiting for her. As she dashed to the lift, her mind raced; who could it possibly be?

_Don't be late,_ the voice chided, and she caught herself nodding…

oOoOoOo

The ride seemed to take forever – by the time she stepped out of those gleaming silver doors and into the chilly night air, she was shaking from head to toe. Step by tentative step, she made her way out into the open…

And then, _he_ appeared. Tanned skin, blonde hair; a pure heart–throb if there ever was one. Anzu had never really noticed it before… but he really did have a very nice body, now she thought about it. And here he was, gazing at her in utter adoration. "Anzu…"  
"Namu?" (1)  
He took her hand, and ever so gently kissed it. "Your secret admirer, naturally." He leaned in close, lips brushing hers. "Could I…?"

And then… Well, she didn't quite understand _why_, but she found herself kissing him. Found herself drinking in every second, enjoying how he put a hand around her neck, and observing his smell, the slightly salty taste of his lips.

What she _didn't _notice… was the hidden camera, nor the glint of the Millennium Rod as Marik sneakily moved it around to the back of head. She didn't notice as he slowly took control of her mind, as he carefully broke away from her, removing her necklace, her bracelet – until it was too late, and he stood over her, repeating over and over; "You will not remember. Only sleep. You will not remember..."

"I - I won't... Namu."

Her vision was blurring, even as he replied - a slight, nasty smile, a gentle voice that yet rang as hard and cold as steel.

"That's 'Master Marik' to you."

"Wha- but... um..."

_So... tired..._

And so it was that Anzu Mazaki woke up with a fuzzy headache, and a dim, flickering want for a bracelet…

oOoOoOo

Marik grinned to himself, stashing away the photos.

_If Rishid does not play me correctly, or they begin to suspect me… I shall use these photos. They will no doubt hurt and embarrass the Pharaoh!  
_  
It was, then, a pity he never did get to use them.

Yami Marik did send him a picture of the good Pharaoh's face to look at later, though...

Notes:  
1. What everyone called Marik, before he was revealed to be Marik.  
oOoOoOo

Author's Thoughts: …Oh boy. First time attempting a romantic pairing (it's just for the lulz, really). Ever. For the better or the worse, I had actually written an anti – Manipulashipping fic with a list of flaws as part of my main series – it ended with Anzu whacking Marik.  
The good news: I knew what the flaws were, and thus how to *sort of* get around them.  
The bad news: I secretly loved it when Anzu gave Marik what–for, and had to write out multiple scenes of her punching, kicking, or otherwise injuring him.


End file.
